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No, He’s Not Hitler—Yet. Trumpism is not Fascism—Yet. And while 63 MILLION AMERICANS voted for this guy, that is only 27 Percent of the voting-eligible population. There is plenty of resistance out there to make sure he doesn’t become Hitler and we don’t succumb to neo-fascism. Let’s get to work.

In a live interview with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie, Christopher Wylie, a former employee of British-based company Cambridge Analytica, says the company misused personal Facebook data of some 50 million people to help influence the 2016 presidential election. Wylie says the company met with former Trump campaign manager (and current outside adviser) Corey […]

Marine life is battling an unexpected enemy, lost fishing gear, also known as ghost gear. 705,000 tons of fishing gear are lost in the ocean every year. Mike Neill and his crew are trying to change that.

Do states have a moral right to exclude people from their territory? It might seem obvious that states do have such a right, but Sarah Fine questions this in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. This episode of Philosophy Bites was sponsored by the Examining Ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University. You can su […]

How do I know I'm not dreaming? This sort of question has puzzled philosophers for thousands of years. Eric Schwitzgebel discusses scepticism and its history with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. This episode of Philosophy Bites was sponsored by the Examining Ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at D […]

What is a robustly demanding good, and what has that got to do with friendship and love? Find out in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast in which Nigel Warburton interviews Princeton Professor Philip Pettit about this topic.

Philosophers talk about 'knowing how' and 'knowing what'. But what is involved in knowing a person? Katalin Farkas discusses this question with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. This episode was sponsored by the Examining Ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University.

Are human beings fundamentally different from the rest of the animal world? Can what we essentially are be captured in a biological or evolutionary description? Roger Scruton discusses the nature of human nature with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

The Hard Problem of consciousness is the difficulty of reconciling experience with materialism. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast, in conversation with Nigel Warburton, Anil Seth, a neuroscientist, explains his alternative approach to consciousness,which he labels the 'Real Problem. Anil is a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow.

Why does apparently trivial ritual play such an important part in some ancient Chinese philosophy? Michael Puett, co-author of The Path, explains in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. This episode of Philosophy Bites was sponsored by the Examining Ethics podcast from the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University. You can subscribe to […]

What is Art? That's not an easy question to answer. Some philosophers even think it can't be answered. Aaron Meskin discusses this question on this episode of Aesthetics Bites. Aesthetics Bites is a podcast series of interviews with top thinkers in the philosophy of art. It is a collaboration between the London Aesthetics Forum and Philosophy Bites […]

The process of dying can be horrible for many, but is there anything bad about death itself? The obvious answer is that deprives us of something that we might otherwise have experienced. But that leads to further philosophical issues...Shelly Kagan discusses some of these with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

We certainly disagree about aesthetic judgments in a range of cases. But is anyone right? Is there no disputing about taste? Are all tastes equal? Elisabeth Schellekens Damman discusses disagreement about taste in this episode of Aesthetics Bites. Aesthetics Bites is a podcast series of interviews with top thinkers in the philosophy of art. It is a collabo […]

Cobalt used to be a byproduct of copper mining, used in everyday, boring stuff like tires and magnets. Now it's one of the most important and sought after metals on the periodic table. This has implications for big tech firms like Apple.

The “it” is what I will call, as a tribute to the great Malvina Reynolds, the Magic Penny, but what those in the know are calling Platinum Coin Seigniorage. It has to do with the Treasury Department ordering the U.S. Mint to issue, say, a $1 trillion platinum coin and then depositing it in the government’s account and using the “seigniorage profits” (the difference between the face value of the coin and the cost to produce it) to do things like, oh, pay bills.

It’s one way to get around the GOP’s willingness to wreck the economy by threatening not to meet all of our nation’s obligations.

Now, you can go read about it and make up your own mind, but here is why, if Mr. Obama is going to do something extraordinary to avoid Republican threats not to raise the debt ceiling, I prefer the option involving the Fourteenth Amendment, which I have mentioned before (and which the President obviously is reluctant, very reluctant, to use).

Here is my reason for that preference: Using Section 4 of that amendment will throw Republicans into such a tizzy that it will make their birtherism seem sane. They will thus spend all of their free time figuring out how to, first, impeach the President, then, second, how to convict him if they do. It will tie them up for months and months and bring out the crazies for all, and by “all” I mean the non-Fox-watching public, to see.

In the mean time, President Obama has absolutely nothing to fear from getting convicted in the Senate, and, as the impeachment of and failure to convict Bill Clinton demonstrates, Obama will be more popular than ever when it is all done!

7 Comments

Using “seigniorage profits” surely would fit the definition of “thinking outside the box”, but I have to say it seems manifestly false and would, in my opinion, give the entire investing world the notion that we are no longer deserving of financial respect. Using the 14th Amendment however simply affirms that we do indeed know what we’re doing and are standing behind every treasury bill issued. I’m glad to see you are embracing the idea, Duane. I don’t however buy into the idea that if Obama did it that he would automatically be impeached. It’s a question of Constitutional law and would be kicked up to the Supremes where, hopefully, they would put this debt-ceiling foolishness into a permanent grave.

This may be one more case where the President does not do what he has said he will do — or, in this case, will eventually do what he now says he will not do. How else do you keep the issue out of the negotiations? He can’t just say “neener, neener, neener.”

I suspect Obama will first do everything he can to avoid having to do what he said he would not do: negotiate with the hostage takers over the debt ceiling. Eventually, though, he may have to take his case to the people at some point, with an aggressive schedule of speeches around the country or one biggie on television.

Just the separation of powers would seem to suggest that congress has authorized programs, and at least a continuing resolution to fund them, but then made it illegal to do what they said. Isn’t it incumbent on the executive to choose which legislative directive to execute??? The good executive would have to do what’s best for the counry, and 14th amendment just makes that formal

When I was a union representative, sometimes my members would ask me, “What do I do when management gives me conflicting orders?” That would happen when on a busy day a boss would say, “Get all your work done and don’t use overtime.” but what if you couldn’t get all your work done without using overtime? Which order do you follow? Get all your work done, or leave some in order to avoid overtime?

Some argue that Obama has been given conflicting instructions from Congress. Spend X amount of money on X, but don’t borrow enough money to do it. There are some rather silly ways out of that mess, but one of them, which would be accepted as legitimate by the American people, would be to do what Congress has explicitly authorized: pay our obligations by the means necessary. Obama could simply say, “Congress has given me a previous order to pay these bills, and I intend on doing that, unless they expressly give me an order not to.” Or he could use the Fourteenth Amendment. Either way, I think he will get a pass from the people if he follows Congress’ original, and really only, instructions.